Barclays to cut 1,100 jobs

Automation makes support staff obselete

Barclays bank is set to cut 1,100 jobs including IT support staff and payment processing posts as it automates cheque-handling processes.

The bank is in the middle of a reorganisation of its operations that includes a review its IT systems. It is moving to standardise its infrastructure and platforms, following a rationalisation of its contracts with suppliers last year.

Barclays is also seeking to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro – a move that, if it goes ahead, will require a major IT integration project and is expected to result in 23,600 being either axed or offshored to produce efficiency gains from the merged organisation.

But a spokesperson said the current job losses affecting the bank's headquarters in Poole, Dorset, were unrelated to the ABN Amro bid.

Barclays has not yet decided exactly how many jobs will go, as the restructuring initiatives will not be completed for another three years, but it is expecting that around 1,100 permanent posts would be affected.

Jobs in Barclay's global payments processing unit are set to be among those axed as the bank introduces an automated scanning system to replace manual data entry for cheque payments, the spokesperson said.

IT support posts were also set to be cut, but the spokesperson added: "Some of those roles are being moved to other areas of the UK and some are being offshored."